


your tears are like pearls

by lemnerd



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Idiots in Love, M/M, Princes & Princesses, royal au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-17 00:44:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16964568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemnerd/pseuds/lemnerd
Summary: Prince Stiles receives news that in order to save his kingdom from crazy Alpha werewolves, he must marry Allison Argent. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself more interested with her dark, mysterious guard instead. As war approaches closer and closer, Stiles must choose between the man loves and the kingdom he loves.





	1. still woozy

"We've arrived, Sire."  

Stiles looks out of the window, and  _damn._ The Argents really are a rich family. Their mansion is stunning and prodigious - with multiple water fountains and so much greenery. Everything is green. There are a bunch of people in suits waiting for him. It feels too formal and sophisticated. Well, he is supposed to be getting married, after all. 

The driver gets out of the car and opens the door for him and whilst Stiles usually hates it - he can open doors by himself, damn it - he appreciates it now. He kind of feels like he's going to puke. He steps out into the clean air and his palms are too sweaty and he's going to trip and he can barely walk in these stupid shoes that dad says makes him  _look like a real gentleman_. He doesn't know what to do with his hands. Should he cross them? Whatever, just-- he's just going to start walking down the pathway to the entrance of the house. There's music playing, and guards surrounding him, and Stiles really isnt sure what's going on until he goes up the steps of the porch to the entrance of the door, where there are some people waiting for him. He recognizes some of them from pictures.

"Prince Stiles." A woman with blonde hair and a cheshire-cat grin says. She curtsies for him. "It's such a pleasure to meet you. Kate Argent. Gerard Argent's daughter."

He doesn't know what it is, but Stiles does not like her. 

Stiles clears his throat. "Me too. Also. The pleasure's also mine, too." 

She looks like she's going to laugh. 

God, why is he like this. This is going on television! There are literally camera-people everywhere. Why does he have to be so spastic?

There's a man with a stone-cold expression. He looks like he could crush Stiles between his fingers. Stiles really doesn't like Hunters. "Chris Argent, your highness."

Stiles shakes his hand and tries to suppress a shiver. Chris Argent is the father of the girl he's supposed to marry. If she's anything like him, Stiles will not be able to look her in the eye. 

"Shall we go inside?" Kate Argent offers.

To avoid speaking, Stiles just nods.

&.

As a kid, Stiles had never really dreamed of getting married at twenty years old to a werewolf hunter.

It all just happened so fast. Stiles really didn't have a choice. It was his freedom, or his kingdom's.

_At the sight of him, the chatter suddenly stops. Considering Stiles is in his pyjamas, it’s actually pretty funny.  All of the nobles stand up from their seats in respect. His throat feels dry. He clears it several times, it being lost from sleep or nerves, he doesn’t know._

_“What, uh. What’s… can someone tell me what’s going on?” Stilles suddenly feels like a little boy, like he was all those years ago walking into this very room. He’s so small. He may be the prince, but compared to all these people, he’s nothing._

_“My Liege.” Deaton says, because it’s a formality. “We have a pressing matter to discuss.”_

_“So speak.” Stiles says, trying to sound more confident than he is._

_He shakes his head. “Walk with me, if it so pleases you.”_

_He lets Deaton lead him out of the meeting room into the hallway, which is inexplainably chilly. Someone turns on the lights and Deaton’s face looks really tense. Deaton looks really tense._

_“Deaton, you look constipated. Why do you look constipated?” Stiles asks. He turns to the guards walking with them. “Why does he look constipated?”_

_One of the guards smiles. Deaton’s face screws up even more._

_They walk for a couple of minutes in silence. Not awkward silence. Stiles understands that Deaton needs time to collect his thoughts before dropping the bad news. He’s used to this tactic. Deaton’s been one of his councilmen for more than ten years now, and everytime there’s been bad news, he’s used this approach. They wander down the red-carpeted hallway, one that Stiles has known his whole life. Deaton takes an audible breath._

_“Do you recall the Alpha pack situated just outside of Beacon’s borders?”_

_Stiles nods. “Yeah, Deucalion's, right? Why? Do we have another territory dispute?”_

_Stiles remembers that weird creepy man walk into the palace a couple of years ago with his Pack. He seemed pretty sketchy, but then again, all werewolves seem to have that vibe. He wasn’t too much in his requests, he just asked for land for his pack to settle on._

_Deaton looks like he’s bitten into a lemon. “I’m afraid we have a much bigger issue than a mere territory dispute. There is talk, Stiles. Deucalion is planning to rally forces and declare war against us.”_

_He stops walking._

_It’s like all the air just got sucked out of the palace._

_A war. A war against Beacon, a tiny peaceful state that’s army is more for appearances than for actual fighting._

_A war. Against Beacon._

_A war._

_How many men will die? How many children will become orphans? All of this is in Stiles’ control. He can barely sit on a throne, he’s not even officially leading the Kingdom yet and it’s going to get plunged into war._

_Stiles doesn’t even know what reaction he should be having right now. Surely he should be panicked, but he just… can’t feel anything. He guesses it just hasn’t fully set in, the fact that so many could die because of him. Because of the twenty-year-old in power._

_“Stiles, just listen to me.” Deaton’s hands are on his shoulders, but he can’t feel them. “We can stop them, okay? You just have to -- stop breathing like that. Calm down.”_

_Stiles didn’t even notice he was hyperventilating._

_“We can fix this, okay?” Deaton says._

_“Wh-” Stiles can’t breathe. He tries again. “Why is… Deaton, tell me why.”_

_Deaton worries at his bottom lip. “His motives are unclear, but my best guess is power. He wants to rule. He’s the alpha of all alphas, and probably doesn’t like the fact that there are humans in power.”_

_Stiles is going to be sick._

_“The good news is that I think we’ve found a solution. Our army is definitely not strong enough against his forces, but if we form the right alliance, that could change.”_

_“With who?” Stiles asks._

_“I need you to be calm for this.” Deaton says._

_He is calm, isn’t he?_

_“Stop shaking.”_

_Stiles steadies himself. “Okay, tell me.”_

_“The Argents are a family incredibly skilled hunters.”_

_“I know who the Argents are.”_

_“If we can get an alliance with them, we can join forces against Deucalion and his army. They have connections. They have weapons. They are incredibly strong. We can end up victorious with them on our side. There’s just one catch.”_

_Stiles steels himself. “Which is?”_

_Deaton looks like he’s bitten into a lemon. “They don’t accept treaty. They want the alliance to be formed through… through marriage.”_

_“No.” Stiles says automatically. “No way. No, no, no. That is not happening. I’m not doing that.”_

_Deaton looks desperate at that declaration. “Sire--”_

_“It’s the twenty-first fucking century. I don’t consent to this, asshole!” He’s losing it._

_“I’m sorry. We can’t afford to have you decline, Stiles.”_

_“I’m too young to get married! I’m too young to even rule! I can’t even legally drink yet! Deaton, I can’t get married!” Stiles knows he’s shouting, knows there’s probably a dozen people watching him, knows his voice is echoing off of the walls of the palace._

_“If we don’t have this, Beacon is going down along with all of its citizens.” Deaton says, firmly. “I dislike this as much as you do, and I have been fighting for you in that meeting for hours. There is no other alternative. I’m sorry. Your betrothed would be Allison Argent, Gerard Argent's granddaughter.”_

_Deaton puts his hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “You don’t have very long to decide, but I trust you’ll make the right decision. Should you agree to this, let me know. "_

_And with that, Deaton is gone, his shoes making soft noises against the carpet, and Stiles is completely alone._

&.

Stiles had just talked to Gerard Argent, and it was the most terrifying thing he ever had to do in his entire life. The man does  _not_ stop smiling. It's so unnerving. There's something not quite right about him. Maybe it's just Stiles, though. The basic premise of that meeting is that he and his mystery fiancée, who he  _still_ hasn't met yet, will wed in a week. In exchange, Argent promised to lend Beacon men and arms to fight against Deucalion. Stiles honestly isn't sure whether this Gerard guy should even be trusted, but then again Stiles cannot think of a single reason why Argent wouldn't hold up his end of the deal.

He feels so heavy and exhausted when he's getting escorted to his guest room. He was literally informed less than 48 hours ago that he's to be married to an Argent. The butler helping him get to his room suddenly stops and gestures to his left, a door.

There's a tall, dark-haired man standing by it, who Stiles assumes to be his guard. 

Their eyes lock. Stiles tries not to gulp audibly.

The man's light-colored (Stiles cannot think of a single color to describe his eyes, so he's just going to go with 'light'.) eyes are striking. Even as a prince who owns crowns and jewels and every type of stone, he's never seen anything akin to that color.

Stiles clears his throat. "Hi."

The man wordlessly opens the door to his suite for him. He's kind of staring Stiles down and it's making Stiles' face pale.

His heart thumps. "O...kay. Good talk." and then he hurries inside and shuts the door behind him, trying to calm his racing heart. Man, that guy was intense.

He hates it here.

&.

"No, Dad. I haven't met her yet. I don't even know what she looks like." Stiles says into his phone, legs dangling off of his too-fancy bed with itchy silk bedsheets.

_"That's exactly what Google is for, son."_

"Who cares, anyway. It's just a marriage on paper. I don't even have to ever meet her."

His dad sighs. " _Stiles_. _I_ know _you're not happy. I'm sorry. I wish there was a better way."_

Stiles shrugs. "Well, at least it's for the good of the kingdom."

_"You know, your mother and I..."_

"I know, Dad. You had a dramatic love story, the Queen marrying a commoner. I know how it went. That's not going to happen to me, though. You and mom fought to stay together despite all the odds. You really were in love. I'm not going to ever have that."

_"Stiles, please don't cry."_

He's not crying. He wipes his face. "Anyway. I have to go. Love you."

He hangs up.

He really misses his mom.

 


	2. goodbye to no one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> viewer discretion is advised, see end notes for details

"'Morning." Stiles says to the guard outside his door, who honestly doesn't seem to have moved at all since he last saw him. 

The guard nods. His eyes are so pretty. 

“Say, what’s your name?” Stiles realizes he’s never gotten it. He doesn't know where this surge of confidence came from. But he's going to run his mouth before he finds the guy terrifying and his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth again.

“That’s not of any importance, my Liege.” the handsome guard replies, a tic in his jaw. 

“Tell me anyway.”

A pause.

“Terrance. It’s Terrance, isn’t it?”

The guard’s mouth curves upwards slightly “No, Sire.”

“Okay, then Brad. You look like a Brad.”

The guard covers his mouth with his hand and shakes his head. Stiles doesn't miss the way the apples of his cheeks round off, meaning he really is smiling.

"You know, I could do this all day, and I have a meeting to get to. You wouldn't want me to miss the meeting, would you?"

The guard looks upward at the ceiling, the back down at Stiles. "It's Derek, Your Highness."

"Derek." Stiles says. "Brad suits you better." then the guard goes back to kind of glaring angrily and Stiles runs away. 

And then he realizes he doesn't know where he's going, so then Derek has to help escort him to the meeting and no one speaks and it's incredibly awkward. He wonders if maybe Derek just doesn't like smiling, so he hates anyone who tries to make him smile. He seems like the kind of person. Maybe he steals candy from babies and pops people's balloons. 

&.

"Good morning, Your Highness. Did you sleep well?" Kate Argent asks as he sits down in the room. He doesn't know anyone here, except for Gerard, Chris and Kate. There are like, eight other people sitting at the table. Stiles wonders how he's going to survive here by himself. He should've brought Scott with him for emotional support.

"Good morning. I did, thank you." Finally, Stiles can say a proper sentence to her.

Gerard clears his throat, a big smile on his face. He gets he's trying to be welcoming, but it's just terrifying for someone to  _always_ smile. "Prince Stiles, I'd like to introduce you to my granddaughter, your betrothed, Allison Argent."

He gestures to a beautiful girl with porcelain skin and dark hair sitting on his right. Just like all the Argents, she's incredibly good-looking and equally as terrifying. Stiles waves to her and she smiles and waves back, and it's a genuine smile. And Stiles feels so good about seeing a friendly face for once since he came here.

"I will give you two some alone time later, but for now I just want to go over the details of our agreement."

"Can..." Stiles says too loudly, "Can I eat first? Sorry, just I haven't eaten because I took Adderall and you're supposed to wait a few hours before you eat anything because then it's less effective, so I'm really hungry and I don't think I'll be able to focus, which is probably, like - it's really rude. And I don't even know where the kitchen is, so it's not like I could just go and eat. "

Everyone's looking at him like he's crazy - either with a grimace or a smirk and Gerard's smile is kind of faltering. People here suck - they just never have fun, like, ever. The guards never smile and the grandpa smiles too much and everyone else hates him and no one takes Stiles seriously. 

Allison gets up, "Let's get you something to eat then, Your Highness. I'll come with you."

Bless her. This marriage could actually work. Stiles thinks he's in love with her.

&.

"You never stop talking, do you?" Allison asks, but she seems in awe rather than sarcastic.

Stiles stuffs the rest of his food into his mouth. Allison makes the best French toast he has ever tasted. In his entire life. And he has had actual gourmet chefs cook for him. His cook at home, Boyd, is a Head Chef.

"I don't-- I get kinda lonely." Stiles admits. "So I just, like, talk a lot to fill in the space, I guess."

"I would think that being Prince means you get tons and tons of friends, no?" Allison says, playing with a fork.

Stiles shrugs. "It gets you a lot of popularity. Not sure about friendships, though. But I do have an amazing friend. That sounds lame when I say it out loud."

Allison nods sympathetically. "You want me to be honest?"

"Huh?"

"I thought you'd be kind of a douche when I first found out we were gonna get married."

"Really?" Stiles grins. 

"Yep."

"And, now that you've seen me in person..."

"You're still a douche." Allison says, smiling.

"Dammit," Stiles says, but he can't keep the grin off of his face.

Allison's face drops. "How did you feel? Knowing you're to be married to someone you've never met?"

Stiles takes a deep breath. "Kind of shitty." 

"Same."

"I just, when I was younger I always thought of, like, actually having a connection with someone. I never thought I'd have an arranged marriage. I thought I'd fall in love."

Allison nods. 

Stiles is going to cry. "Well." he stands up abruptly. "It was really great meeting you Allison. And thank you for the French toast, that was really good."

Allison smiles. "See you around, Stiles. Hey, I'm inviting a couple of my friends to hang by our pool this Friday. Wanna come? You can invite people as well."

"I'll definitely think about it. Thanks."

Stiles walks out of the kitchen, and then realizes he doesn't know where he is. Damn it to hell, why is this place so confusing. Every hallway looks the same. And Stiles has no sense of direction. He's not about to ask anyone where to go, people will just make fun of him even more. He needs to look like he knows what he's doing, so he just starts purposefully walking down the hall. He takes a left. He walks some more. He's pretty sure he's going in circles.

Stiles is about to scream at the hand on his shoulder. He turns to see it's Kate Argent. 

"Do you need help getting back to your room, My Lord?" he's pretty sure she said the last part mockingly.

"Kate. Hi. No. I'm good. Thanks."

"Nonsense, let me help you." she puts her hand on Stiles' lower back and he's never felt more uncomfortable in his entire life. 

"Uh, what about, um." Stiles' heart is racing. "What about the meeting."

"Oh, we're postponing that until this evening. Don't worry."

Her fingers dance but her hand stays firmly in its position and her heels click against the floor and Stiles is going to puke. 

"Are you okay? You seem a bit..." she leans down to his ear. "Flushed."

And then he can see the suite and Stiles tears himself away from her and kind of fast-walks to the door and slams it shut behind him, trying to clear his mind and calm his heart rate. It's no big deal, right? Kate was just playing games. It's fine. Stiles isn't in danger - although he 100% feels like he is. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He's going to hyperventilate, he's going to--

He hears a knock on the door.

He can't find his voice.

The knock grows more persistent. 

"Come- who is it?" Stiles manages to say.

"Can I come in?" it's Derek.

"Yeah."

The door opens, and Derek looks unsettled. 

"What's up?" Stiles asks.

"Are you-- you smell... are you okay?"

"I'm good."

Derek looks really angry, like he's struggling for the right words. "You smell like Kate. Did - stay away from Kate. Don't let her touch you. Did she touch you?"

"She... I'm fine." Stiles says. "Whoa, wait, you're a werewolf? Cool."

Derek rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna leave. Are you sure you're okay?"

Stiles nods.

Derek doesn't look like he totally believes him, but, "Okay. If you... if you, um. If you need me, I'm just on the other side of the door."

"Thank you, Derek."

The door closes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nothing explicit happens in this chapter but kate does make stiles feel uncomfortable and attempts to seduce him so please be careful!!


End file.
